Washington, DC – The Department of Energy announced today that it will sell off 30 million barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR). Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley released a statement following the announcement.
“I applaud President Obama and the Department of Energy for releasing a small portion of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. The SPR was created for times like now, when there are sky high prices and no relief on the horizon. This action will boost supply and lower gas prices for Oregonians. However this is only a short-term fix to a long-term problem. I will continue to advocate for a strategy that will end our addiction to overseas oil, bringing home the billion dollars a day we are spending on foreign oil to create red, white, and blue American jobs. ”
On March 4, 2011, Senator Merkley joined with other Senators to call on the President to release a small portion of the SPR to help bring down the price of gas at the pump. It called for investing the profits off the sale to encourage electric vehicle deployment and reduce our deficit.
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